My Piece

I got into running because i want to lose weight and be fit. I achieved both and got more as an added bonus. I now appreciate the outdoors, have developed a fondness for running and mtbiking and especially, I gained new friends who share the same interests. You see, there's something about the outdoors that you will never get to know unless you experience it. I am just too glad that I did and will still do in hopefully many years to come.

Two Fridays ago, I was one of the lucky runner-bloggers who got to be invited to the launch of Skechers’ new line of sports/fitness shoes under the Skechers Resistance Runner (SRR) brand, the PROSPEED, at the Skechers’ Concept Store in Market! Market! Mall, Taguig City. The launch could have struck me as somehow uneventful having received and tried my own ProSpeed pair for almost two weeks worth of running training already. But it definitely was not the case. I was still as excited as if I am to see the product up-close, learn about its features and get to try it for the first time.

the ProSpeed comes in nice color combinations

My giddiness on being able to be at the launch may be due to the following reasons:

my runner-blogger friends will be there

they will each get a chance to try on the ProSpeed for a few moments running on the treadmill

they will get to see and experience for themselves the great things I discovered running with this pair of shoes

I will get to finally meet the people behind Skechers Philippines and personally thank them for asking me to try out their ProSpeed shoes.

bloggers and media listening intently on Gail's presentation

Prior to the main event which was the actual presentation of the SRR ProSpeed, professional fitness expert and The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition (BLPE) trainor, Chinggay Andrada was also introduced as Skechers’ Philippines’ fitness spokesperson. It was really so nice to see her and get a chance to chat with her longer than when we will be both working in a RunRio race. It was really so cute also to have her meet my husband, Art Mendoza which incidentally is the same name of one of her BLPE trainee!

Chinggay Andrada, Skechers Fitness Spokesperson

After sharing a sumptous catered-dinner buffet, the star of the event – the ProSpeed, was finally presented to all attendees. One surprise activity was when Blas Tiangco, another runner-blogger, and I were requested to share our ProSpeed experience. I could have melted right at the moment when I was asked to do that because I am not fond of speaking in front of a crowd – let me just write and I won’t complain but ask me to speak in front of people is an entirely different story. But realizing that it will be kind of unselfish of me not to let everyone know how good my experience with the shoe was, I obliged, nervous and all!

Gail of Skechers explains the features of the Skechers SRR ProSpeed

Blas of the Titanium Runner blog shares his experience with the ProSpeed pair that he bought

My very short talk focused on how the ProSpeed really helped me achieve that MidFoot Strike when running, the springy bounce that comes with every step, the nice color combination (simple but not boring!) of each model and its lightweightness. All that resulting to my having more efficient runs (running now requires less effort), ease and confidence (I am running with a corrected form now!).

UltraMarathoner Michelle Estuar having her share of ProSpeed Experience🙂

The best part came towards the end when all guests were allowed to try on a pair and run with it on a treadmill. I was so glad that everyone did! You see folks, all my runner-blogger friends have been running for not less than a year already and because of that, they surely have developed a preference to a particular brand of running shoe which definitely have given them good running mileage. It will definitely be kinda difficult to convert them with just a few minutes of trial. But happily and as I have quietly predicted, they were convinced! The ProSpeed, they say – so to speak, really “practice what it preaches” and is not just a shoe with a coated “UNtruth in advertising”. Hopefully, sometime soon, we’ll all get to run together wearing the same shoes that we know will work best for us – the SKECHERS SRR PROSPEED.🙂

the bloggers with Chinggay Andrada

with Skechers' Marketing Communications Officer, Katrina Ong

If you want to know the result of my initial ProSpeed experience, you can read my non-technical feedback HERE. For technical features and explanation, I would like to share to everyone this helpful vid about the Skechers SRR Line:

The Skechers SRR ProSpeed line of shoes are now available at leading sports & fitness stores nationwide and at the Skechers Stores in malls like Market! Market Mall, Taguig City and Festivall Mall in Alabang wherein all color combinations are available for everyone to choose from. The shoe retails at around P5,000+. :)

I have been on an extended, on-and-off running “semi-retirement” for some time now and I really was buried in the reason that work and more work is taking too much of my time giving me no opportunity to lace-up and run. Never did I know that receiving a pair of Skechers ProSpeed SRR to try on will be the one to make me come out of it. My first and only fitness experience with Skechers was not what I can say as awesome – mainly because it happened at a time when I was trying to relinquish my “throne” as the “Couch Potato Queen”! But then again, my current reconnection with this brand is a totally different experience as it gave a very favorable result! I have always been a Nike fan but with Skechers ProSpeed, I felt that my feet just found its perfect “mate”!

PROSPEED SRR DETAILS

The ProSpeed is one of the three shoe models under the Skecher’s Resistance Runner (SRR) line of fitness shoes which are said to be designed for long distance, power training and even street appeal (which Skechers was originally known for). Let me first share with you the technical details of the shoe.

I never thought that I will come to love a shoe with a brand other than Nike (the other brands, I just “like”). You see, I have earlier on come to a conclusion that my feet works best with Nike pairs of shoes (I am a runner with a neutral gait btw). But I guess one never really gets to forget their “first” – Skechers being the first ever branded sports shoe that I had a long way back.

I was able to run with my pair of ProSpeed for three training days: 1st day had a total of 5km mileage, 2nd day a total of 45 minutes continuous run and the third day, a 5km run. I also tried wearing the shoes at the office yesterday just to see how I will feel wearing it for 9 hours straight – standing, walking on it or just plainly wearing it while working.

As I am no shoe guru or fitness expert, I will have to share to you folks a recreational runner’s version of a shoe review, more commonly known as a “costumer feedback”. Here goes:

The shoe comes in color combinations that are just right, not so loud yet not so simple too. The pair I received is the neutral Black/White combination.

Snug Fit. I love how it hugs my feet without feeling too tight or uncomfortable. It is as if the pair was custom-made for my feet.

It is light, as expected for a racing flat kind of shoe.

The inner sole, called the Sock-Fit insole, is soft and comfortable. It is as if I am running with a small pillow inside my shoe. Again, just like the shoe itself, it is as if I am wearing custom-made insoles.

The “rocker bottom” wasn’t uncomfortable at all. It is actually fun especially when you are standing because I can playfully shift my weight from front to back with the swaying motion that the rocker bottom causes (well folks, that is kulit me loving how I can play with my shoe!)

The shoe helps me correct my foot strike. I am a natural heel-striker which I have been trying to correct through training since 2007 but I never thought that a shoe can make me land on my midfoot without much effort and even unconsciously.

My runs have that easy bounce. So is my walking. I guess that is the “Kinetic Return System” giving each of my stride that springy push that propels me forward with ease.

Oh and not to forget, the OC (Obsessive-Compulsive!) in me is really happy with that velcro thingy attached to one side each of the left and right shoe’s tongue. Makes the tongue stay in the right place.😉

I would have loved for this shoe to also have some kind of reflectorized parts which can come in handy during night runs but it does not have one. Other than that, I cannot think of anything negative to say about this shoe (not yet or hopefully not ever). I am so looking forward to being consistent with my training so that I can eventually increase my mileage and in effect be able to test the ProSpeed’s performance during long runs.

My overall conclusion as of now is that this shoe is great for me and will be too for those who are especially hoping to convert their foot strike into midfoot as this shoe has the technology to help runners do so. For all the improvements and the new technology that the Skechers Fitness Group put in this shoe and for the mid-range price of PHP 5,000+, I can definitely say that Skechers have finally “nailed it” through this SRR ProSpeed.

Meanwhile, I encourage you not just to take my word for it but check and try it for yourselves. I, on the other hand, will go back to my budget notebook to see how I can easily justify a purchase of another pair of the ProSpeed, this time the Blue/Green combination. ;)

Skechers ProSpeed and its whole line of SRR shoes are already available in department stores and fitness/sports shops all over the Philippines. Visithttp://www.skechers.com.ph for more technical details about its SRR line of shoes.

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“The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed.” - Jacqueline Gareau